Confidence
by Azure129
Summary: A frantic Jack fears that his first presentation about Halloween to the other holiday leaders is going to be a disaster. Luckily, Sally comes along to assure him that he has nothing to worry about, and to remind him that he'll have a dearest friend out in the audience (and later at home) who is always ready to support him. One shot. JackXSally.


**A/N:**

Hello! I hope everyone's doing well. My name is **Azure129**, and this is my first time posting any (non-collab) work in this fandom. I'm a longtime TNBC fan, a longtime JackXSally fan, and a longtime fan fiction writer in general : ) I hope anyone who reads my stories will enjoy them and that you'll please review if you can! Mostly I'll be posting oneshots like this one (though I do have a full-length story that I'm also starting to post right now along with this). I really do love JackXSally, so my oneshots will pretty much be romantic K to T rated moments between them. I hope you like this fic, and thank you for reading!

This fic is set a couple of months after the events of the movie : )

**Confidence**

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"Oh dear…oh dear, oh dear, where are my notes? Where is my tie? Where are my Halloween diagrams!? I—"

"Jack?"

Jack Skellington stopped dead in his pacing along the floorboards of the little backstage area of town hall. For a moment his breathing locked up in pleasant surprise, but then he quickly cleared his throat and turned around and…there she was…the lovely owner of that lovely voice that could always break through his worry and distraction to make everything a little better.

"Sally…" Jack looked to her with such a little frown of nervousness and worry, throwing his arms up in the air. "I can't find anything! I could have sworn I had my speech notes right in this hand not a minute ago!" Jack held forth a bony hand that was indeed empty.

Sally just blinked a few times…and then she calmly smiled. And then she pointed to Jack's other hand, which happened to contain the notes he was looking for. "I think they're in _that_ hand, Jack," she let him know as kindly as possible, trying not to let her smile grow too much.

Jack blinked and then looked to his other hand. Sure enough, she was right…as usual. "O-Oh…thanks," was all he could say back sheepishly before quickly putting the notes inside of his interior jacket pocket.

Jack looked down with a touch of embarrassment at having been so silly and not realized that what he was looking for had been right in his other hand all along. But then he blinked a few more times and looked to Sally with desperation again. "Oh, but Sally, where are my Halloween diagrams?! How am I going to teach all the other holiday leaders who are sitting out there right now about Halloween without them? And especially when all of the leaders were kind enough not only to agree to let me join their council after the whole 'Christmas thing'…" he shrugged awkwardly, "…but to come here to let me explain Halloween to them as well as part of sharing our cultures? Sally, I can't just go out there and _talk_ about Halloween—I need some kind of visual, especially for singing about our holiday!"

Sally just sighed, the serene smile never leaving her face. "Jack…" she took a step toward him, her arms behind her back, so that the two of them were right in front of one another now. "Everything is already set up onstage, remember? You asked the Mayor to do that so that you could just open the second curtain when you got out there and everyone would see the display and charts behind you, just to make things run more smoothly." There was so much sweet understanding in her tone.

Jack just looked at her with a touch of wide-eyed confusion for a moment…before blinking a few times again and now looking about twice as embarrassed as he had before about the 'speech notes' thing. "O-Oh, right. How could I forget…heh?" He did his best to grin normally, though what he managed was more of another sheepish smile than anything else to say the least.

But then of course Jack looked to Sally once more in desperation and asked with hope that she would know the answer to this problem as well, "Oh but Sally, my tie, I can't go out there without my tie! I-I have to look professional and dignified, but I can't find it anywhere!" And indeed, this time Jack's issue appeared to be well founded—his neck was legitimately bare and the tie wasn't sticking right out of his coat pocket or sitting in one of his hands or anything! "Do you have any idea where it could be? Oh, I have to make a good impression on them all, Sally, I just have to, and especially on Sand—on Santa. I-I don't want to come off as completely insane or something." He started to rant a tiny bit, rubbing the back of his bare neck and pacing a little in concern. "After all, the other worlds already must think that Halloween Town is so strange—we're all dead and we eat bugs and we enjoy scaring the living daylights out of one another, and no other world is even close to like that at all! Plus, I stole…oh, I stole a holiday and nearly got Santa Claus killed! If I don't do this presentation perfectly for him and all the holiday leaders, it'll be such an insult to our holiday, and none of them will ever take me seriously, and I'll have let everyone down, and I—"

Jack was stopped, in his ranting and his pacing, by the feeling of a pair of hands…soft, cloth hands…coming to his shoulders and holding him in place. He looked down with wide eye sockets at the kind owner of those hands. Then he sighed softly and frowned, still seeming in so much distress even if he was calmer about it for the moment. "Sally…I'm scared," Jack finally admitted in a very quiet voice.

Sally, however, still had that gentle, understanding smile on her stitched face. She looked up and spoke very sincerely to Jack. "Jack, would you like to feel like you can do _anything_? Would that help?"

Jack looked at her in a touch of confusion for a moment. But then he had to nod of course. "Yes…that much confidence would certainly help things, I think."

Sally smiled more, something in her large eyes brightening. "Okay, then. I'll give you what always makes _me_ feel like I can do anything in the whole world." Jack was about to question her strange offer when suddenly she leaned up and put her arms around his neck and kissed him right on the mouth.

A deep, shuddery inhale went through Jack's nose…then it left in a light little sigh…and then his arms came around her as well. They held each other and kissed together.

A few moments later Jack and Sally lightly pulled apart, still holding each other, breaths shallow.

Sally smiled up in a loving haze at Jack. "D-Do…Do you feel better, Jack? Dearest Jack…." Her smile warmed and grew.

Jack nodded, his face looking just as blissful as hers. "Eternally. Y-You were right, Sally, I feel like I could do anything now. I feel like I could fly, no sleigh required." He chuckled a little.

Sally giggled in return and hugged him a bit more closely. "Good…I'm glad. Now…" she separated them and got behind him, nudging him in the direction of the stage curtain, "You are going to go out there and explain Halloween to all the holiday leaders, and you'll be wonderful at it, and when it's all over I made you a big pumpkin pie with extra spiders and Zero's waiting at your house to eat it with us." She smiled more at the happy plans.

Jack, truly feeling much more relaxed now, chuckled a bit at her cute little nudging and plans. He paused and glanced over his shoulder at her just as they reached the inside of the first curtain. "Sally, why must you always call it 'my' house? I gave you the tower to live in now that Dr. Finkelstein made Jewel to take care of him. So it's…it's sort of _our_ house now…don't you think?" He turned to face her completely again, looking down with a shy little smile.

Sally just glanced to the side with a thoughtful little smile of her own, turning away shyly and putting her arms behind her back. "Oh, well…I…it's just so much for me to think of it as _our_ house. After all, it's only been a couple of months, and I…I don't want to impose." Her eyes, hazed in happiness, looked upward to his eye sockets.

Jack just smiled more, his eye sockets half lidded, and leaned a little bit down toward her. "It isn't an imposition, I promise you. And, if you'll have me, I mean to make it _our_ house forever…all of it…and in all ways. I have the noblest and most honest intentions for the woman I love, after all…." he finished so very softly.

Sally all but melted in little trembles and giggles, swaying on her feet a little. "Oh Jack…" Her grin picked up a tiny bit on one side and she gazed up at him dreamily. "I bet you say that to _all _of the ragdolls who adore you." She brought a hand up to her mouth and giggled more.

Jack smirked a tiny bit and just chuckled and replied, "No, just to the ones who are very, very, very cute…and ravishing…and clever…and kind…and who are my dearest friend." He winked.

Sally grinned playfully and then let out a little sigh and stepped closer to him. "All right, Jack, that's enough stalling. Time to give your speech to the council, Mr. Pumpkin King, and I'll be rooting for you from the balcony." She turned him in the direction of the curtain again.

Jack sighed and nodded. "All right, I'll do it. I really do feel much better now anyway." He had his hand on the curtain and was about to pull it aside to go through it, past the set-up Halloween display, and then through the second curtain to finally see all of his esteemed guests and fellow citizens out in the audience, when he paused and blinked, recalling something. Jack reached up to his bare neck and turned to Sally with a frown once more. "Oh, but my tie—really, Sally, have you seen…it…?"

The slowing of Jack's speech was due to the sight that met his eye sockets now of Sally standing there before him with a shy little smile on her face and one of her hands holding up his tie by one end. She explained. "I had it, Jack. From last night. You remember—when you came to wish me goodnight in the tower…and we went over to my little couch, and you let me kiss you, and you kissed me back…for a while? And then your tie ended up getting a little t-torn, and then coming off…." Sally would have blushed if she had had blood in her. She took a breath and quickly finished. "I mended it this morning. Here you go." And then she reached up with both hands and proceeded to tie it around his neck gently, not once looking him in the eye and always with that private little smile on her face. "I'll have to sew you some more ties, just in case too many more of them get torn in the future," she added quietly.

Jack was just straight-spined and wide-eyed and trying not to collapse from his bones rattling in embarrassment at the sudden memory from the previous night. "Oh…I, erm…yes, I remember," he managed quietly as well. "Thank you…for mending it…and for bringing it…and for tying it." He smiled a little, looking down at her hands fast at work making the little bat in his bat bowtie. "And I'll be sure to get you some more cloth and needles for those new bowties we might need." He did his best not to chuckle.

A little giggle escaped Sally, and then she gave the bowtie a final tug and sighed, looking up into his eyes. "Good luck, dearest Jack."

Jack's grin picked up a little. "Dearest Sally, thank you. And if I definitely want luck, I do know one way to get it, I think."

"Are you going to steal St. Patrick's Day, Jack?" Sally couldn't help the little playful joke.

Jack just chuckled, his grin growing more, and shook his head. "No…I'll just do this." Then he took her in his arms, upon which he pulled her close, spun her around, dipped her back, and then placed a beautiful, tender, passionate kiss upon her lips, letting a happy sigh escape through his nose as he did so.

"Mmm!" Sally squeaked at first in surprise, but then she melted with his actions, closed her eyes, smiled, sighed, kissed back…. She held on to his shoulders and never wanted to let go.

Eventually, Jack lifted her back up and separated them. He looked down at her with something warm glowing in his eye sockets. "There we go—a beautiful woman's kiss has to be lucky. I'm ready, Sally…I'll make my speech now. Thank you." He gave her a quick happy hug.

Sally just beamed as she regained herself a little. She wrapped her arms around him in return. "Oh, you're welcome, Jack!"

They hugged for a moment more and then pulled back, knowing Jack really couldn't stall his presentation any further. Jack released Sally from his grasp and held up her hand in a gentlemanly manner. "I'll see you after the presentation is over. And thank you so much again for all of your help, my dearest friend. I'm so happy to have you."

Sally felt so touched. Her smile threatened to burst the seams of her mouth as she replied sincerely, "I'm so happy to have you too, Jack. Goodbye for now." She waved, stepping back a little. "I love you." She kissed her palm and blew it to him as she approached one of the stage side exits to take her usual private place out in the balcony above the audience.

Jack blew her a small kiss in return just before she left. "I love you too, Sally."

Alone now, Jack let out a sigh. He reached into his coat interior pocket and pulled out his speech notes, glanced at them with a smile for exactly one second, and then tore them in half and let them fall to the floor. "The Pumpkin King doesn't need a script! This is Halloween—it's a holiday of passion and mystery and wonder…and I'll let everyone know about it right from my heart!" Jack nodded and smiled to himself proudly at his newfound inspiration. And with that, he pushed past the first and second curtains and found himself out on stage right in front of all his citizens and in front of Santa and the other holiday leaders as well (all of whom had the capacity for a lot more sympathy and interest than Jack's fears had let him think they might have).

Jack took a quick bow and then finally proceeded with his thrilling presentation, extolling the essence of Halloween for a whole new world (or should we say 'worlds') of people, his dearest Sally included.

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**A/N:**

That's all for now! I hope you all enjoyed this little story. Thank you for checking out my work, and again reviews are appreciated!

Happy Reading!

~Azure129 aka Jenna


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